Luke Pomersbach struggled to get going but the Brisbane Heat still posted a competitive 5-167 in their Twenty20 Big Bash League final against the Perth Scorchers at the WACA Ground on Saturday.
Pomersbach entered the match in white-hot form after blasting scores of 112no and 82 in his previous two digs.
But the 28-year-old couldn’t reproduce those fireworks against the Scorchers, making 37 off 38 balls before holing out in the deep.
Joe Burns (47 off 27 balls) top-scored for the Heat, while Dan Christian (37 off 21) provided some crucial big hits at the tail-end of the innings.
The Scorchers had their spinners to thank for restricting the Heat at various stages, with the evergreen Brad Hogg claiming 1-19 off four overs, and Michael Beer chipping in with 1-26 off four.
The Heat suffered a massive blow before the match when skipper James Hopes failed in his bid to overcome the hamstring injury he suffered in Tuesday’s semi-final win over the Renegades.
Scorchers wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt was again overlooked for selection, leaving Mike Hussey to take on the gloveman’s duties for a second straight match
Marcus Stoinis replaced injured South African Herschelle Gibbs (hamstring) in the Scorchers’ line-up.